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Salesforce has launched a social-networking monitoring system that addresses customers' growing use of social media to vent their frustrations. CEO Marc Benioff notes that many call centers are not equipped to handle the social-networking complaints, and says the company's Chatter program will have Facebook and Twitter features tailored for corporate users.

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Don't just follow the social-marketing crowd when designing your strategy. Set yourself apart and deliver the content your core audience demands, Social Media Explorer's Jason Falls advises. He notes that you don't need a technical understanding of social networks to get started and that there are plenty of free tools to help you create your online presence.

Managing social media requires someone who is curious, strategic, thoughtful -- not impulsive -- and enjoys people more than technology, Chris Nerney writes. "There are some giant egos in the social-media business," he adds. "A good social-media manager freely gives out credit for successes to teammates and accepts blame for failures."

Microsoft Outlook is incorporating features from LinkedIn as part of a social-media makeover for Office 2010, which is now available in beta. The e-mail program will integrate profiles, pictures and social data from LinkedIn -- and potentially other sites that avail Outlook's Social Connector tool. Microsoft is also offering an add-on for download that synchronizes Outlook and LinkedIn contacts.

Blogging entrepreneur Anil Dash is launching Expert Labs, a social platform that aims to connect policymakers and researchers through social media and to crowdsource content on existing sites to inform decision making. "Opening government up to a broad array of expertise is the next logical step in improving American policymaking," says publisher Alan Leshner.

Social media's ROI can be measured only once your firm has detailed its goals and established a baseline metric -- a snapshot of blog traffic at a certain time, for example -- writes Urs E. Gattiker, chief technology officer of CyTRAP Labs. He emphasizes cost-benefit analyses and says clicks, views and re-tweets can be used to measure one's success.